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Fairgrounds Road project targets May 2013 completion

Alamogordo Daily NewsBy John Bear, Staff Writer

Posted:
10/02/2012 09:44:18 PM MDT

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Nurse Amanda Castleberry had to schlep her bicycle across an empty field from the surgery center at Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center to get to Fairgrounds Road on Tuesday. The city awarded a contract to a Las Cruces-based construction outfit to connect Fairgrounds Road between Scenic Drive and North Florida Avenue.

The Alamogordo City Commission awarded a contract of slightly more than $1 million to a Las Cruces-based construction outfit to connect Fairgrounds Road between North Scenic Drive and North Florida Avenue.

La Calerita Construction beat out five other bidders to snatch the contract worth $1.04 million, city documents show.

The contract award was part of the City Commission's consent agenda. It considered the matter routine and it was enacted along with other items in a single vote.

The section of road will include sidewalks on both sides of the street, according to city documents.

Mayor Susie Galea said the road should have been completed by now, but the city was hampered by bad soil in the area and issues with contractors.

Galea said the connected roads will cut down on response time for emergency personnel trying to reach Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center. Right now, ambulances have to travel Indian Wells Road to reach the hospital, she said.

Galea expects the road will be finished by early May 2013.

"It's not too inconvenient, but for those in an emergency, that quarter of a mile makes a big difference," she said.